It's been over 500 days since my last gig, my longest time between live music shows since birth to ACDC. Most of tonight’s disbelieving Brudenell throng are in the same boat, a few acquaintances joyously renewed by some regulars, the Space Raiders once again flying off the shelves, helping to soak up the beer as the famed Leeds venue finally enjoys the sort of visitor numbers not witnessed for a couple of summers.
As middle act, hilariously abrasive Mancunian beat poet ‘Thick Richard’ put it, ‘Tonight you could be watching Gary Barlow belching into the mic for 15 minutes and you’d still be losing your shit.’ Arriving just as openers AKDK were concluding their first live performance since 2019, general anecdotal feedback was positively gushing, perhaps due to the novelty value of seeing a live band again but hey! Let's give them the benefit of the doubt.
Like most if not all musicians, Holly and David’s ‘Lovely Eggs’ have been starved of tour dates in the year and a half since their last album ‘I Am Moron’ hit the shelves, the duo sharing their amusing story of eBaying a bewildering array of personal effects for a few extra quid, including a Leeds United holdall and much treasured and still unused bar of vintage Mickey Mouse bathroom soap. Tonight’s show, a last minute addition to their much rescheduled summer relaunch fulfils a long standing promise from Mr Brudenell himself to get them back as soon as possible, the fans here in numbers to reinforce their solidarity.
The Lancaster band looked thrilled to be back gigging again, a slightly rusty start soon giving way to their natural live rhythm, a handful of “Fuck it” scarves visible between swaying lofted arms watching one of the purest distillations of the Peel sound out there, back playing intimate venues preaching their message to the converted. Holly and David have managed to pull off blending their defiantly uncommercial left leaning DIY ethic and using it to mine a rich seam of caustic Fall irreverence, clever HMHB wordplay, Polly Jean’s fuzzball heft, spooky Super Furry electronica, as well as a definite nod to the northern club circuit showbiz wit.
New tracks ‘I Moron’ and ‘Still Second Rate” sat nicely alongside older favourites, everyone singing along to their aforementioned expletive laden take on ‘Fake Plastic Trees’, marvelling at its stroke of machiavellian merchandising genius. Even the Lovely Eggs list songs are surprisingly good, ‘You Can Go Now’ and ‘Don’t Look At Me (I Don’t Like It)’ are a couple of confrontational belters although I was heartbroken not to hear the gloriously bonkers ‘Have You Ever Heard a Digital Accordion?’ which positively reeks of being written with 6 cans of Stella and a rhyming dictionary.
Beef bourguignon anyone?
Words - Mike Price.
Lovely Eggs official